Enhancing Artemisinin Solubility in Aqueous Solutions: Searching for Hydrotropes based on Ionic Liquids

Artemisinin is a sesquiterpenoid lactone peroxide, known for its potent antimalarial activity that can be extracted from Artemisia annua L. This compound only sparingly soluble in water, making extraction using environmental-friendly and non-toxic aqueous solvents difficult. In the attempt to overcome this limitation, hydrotropes, which are class of compounds assist increasing solubility hydrophobic solutes were investigated work. particular, hydrotropic capability ionic liquids (ILs) on artemisinin was studied. The effects IL concentration anion nature 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium-based ILs at 303.2 K water evaluated. It here shown excellent capacity containing thiocyanate or dicyanamide anions enhance media, with magnitude comparable obtained best organic solvents. Furthermore, solvatochromic parameters solutions also measured combined COSMO-RS cooperative hydrotropy model establish relations between enhancement solvent characteristics. favored by apolarity medium lower hydrogen-bond acceptor character hydrotrope.